A Save is average savings since the unit was installed.
This shows how many burner hours were used for the data.
I save is instant savings (last time the burner ran).
As part of our home inspection for solar upgrades, we had our heating system evaluated. The engineer suggested a $400 upgrade to make our boiler more efficient. The unit promises at least 10% improvement on efficiency of you get your money back. It is a bolt-on installation that can be retrofit to most boilers. Essentially it makes the boiler smarter. It bolts on the side of the bioler and there are some sensors that strap on your return water pipes. It is not a major installation.
The unit is from Intellicon (we have hot water so we installed the HW unit). Cost of the unit plus installation was $400. When we purchased it in Summer 2008, oil proce was $2.89/gallon. I calculated our payback at a little less than 2 years, given a 10% savings on our typical 750 gallons per year consumption.
The unit saves energy by adjusting the burner run pattern according to the temperature of the returning water. We tried it and have been very pleased.
When the weather is really cold (and the return water is much cooler because the home is being heated, the unit does not reduce run time very much), the the unit saves less than during the spring and fall.
The unit shows instant and average savings. Our average savings (as shown in the photo) is more then 20%. We felt no difference in our home temperature. You wouldn't even know you have it installed. Though I confess that I like to go down and see how much I'm saving!
For more information, see http://www.intellidynellc.com/02_pgHW.htm
This year (heating season June 1 to May 31) we used 77% of the oil we used last year, a savings of 155 gallons. At $2.10/gallon, we saved $325.50! I anticipate we will easily meet our goal of a 2 year payback time.
Another option is to install an outdoor reset control (where the sensor measures outdoor temperature), but we elected go with this option.
I encourage you to try one of these to make your heater smarter!!
Cheers,
Mark
